Tough2gether Against DIPG

Tough2gether Foundation
Fighting Childhood Cancer

Supporting Families and Funding DIPG DMG Research

2gether in honor of Jace Ward & our Founding Families

We are on a mission to end childhood cancer as we know it! Let's do it 2gether!

Your gift made in December 2024 will be MATCHED up to $70,000! Just make your gift, and if you are giving in honor of someone, tag the person (with contact information if you have it) in the comments when giving. We'll be sure to let the person know.

We are looking for 300 very special people this month to pledge at least $11 per month for one year. That $40,000 will support important goals of Tough2gether, including support for families to enroll in clinical trials, to pay living expenses while the child is in an end-of-life battle, and to support our national tumor board, the MyDIPGNavigator, the BrainStorm Summit for families and researchers, and co-sponsor the Hope & Healing Grief Retreat. Together, we fund research grants and work to advance what researchers can learn from each child. Tough2gether Foundation is daily in the fight and communicating as a sounding board and connector of resources with those facing childhood cancer and grief following childhood cancer. Pledge your monthly gift and receive a special acknowledgement in February each year!

What We Do. Tough2gether Foundation is a leader supporting those with DMG (and DIPG). DMG is the most aggressive form of terminal childhood cancer with a nine to eleven-month life expectancy. Currently, DMG kills 1/3rd of those who die of childhood cancer each year. When a child or young adult is diagnosed, NOTHING is ever the same again. The family will watch helplessly as the child loses his or her walk, talk, swallow, and voice. Over time they will become locked in their bodies but will never lose their full understanding of everything happening to them. We know when diagnosed, families MUST hit the ground running with up-to-date advice, with connection to the best clinical trials and others working ahead of the family to bring the best choices.

Today, DIPG does not have a cure, but with your help, we ARE making incremental steps and helping to extend life AND quality of life for patients. In September 2020, Jace's goal was to raise $1.2M for DIPG online. Why $1.2M? Because it was the amount required for the trial he could not enter. His goal was to ensure the next child didn't need to fundraise to save his life. We continue his work to make the circle bigger and fight childhood cancer as lives depend on it because they do. In the process Jace met many families and many researchers and co-founded with his parents Tough2gether Foundation. Jace put into motion a DIPG Patient Continuum, which now includes My DIPG Navigator, DIPG DMG National Brain Tumor Board, the collection of patient-reported data, the BrainStorm Summit, Hope & Healing Family Grief Retreat, and more. Our work is far from complete, but with YOUR help, we strive EVERY day to move closer to treatments that heal.

We Support Families With Childhood Cancer. While we primarily support research in DMG, we also support families with childhood cancer with bills, travel to trials, end-of-life expenses, and experiences. If you know a family who needs help, please refer them to us at www.livebrave2gether.org. Please read these children's beautiful stories and about the work we are doing at www.Tough2gether.org. These are incredible humans from age 3 to 30 who, with their families, know cancer as we know it MUST change. We want every family to have access to treatments and support from others who understand and connect to the best research, therapies, and individualized treatment options. We support and connect nearly daily with those on the front lines bringing these trials. Jace's life on earth ended on July 3, 2021, but his mission to help the next child continues. In fact, since his diagnosis, Tough2gether has assisted nearly 500 families. Many became Tough2gether Founding Families in 2024.

About Jace Ward, Founder.

We did not know about brain cancer until we looked at it in our son's face. Jace Ward was 20 when diagnosed with DIPG, ironically on DIPG Awareness Day, May 17, 2019. Standing with him in a small patient room, he explained the double vision he was having in the corner of his eye. The neurosurgeon explained, "You have an inoperable, aggressive, terminal cancer located in the brainstem. You have 6-9 months to live." Jace replied, I'm not afraid to die; I'm afraid not to have time to make an impact before I do." It was a shocking diagnosis to an otherwise extremely healthy young man with his sights set on law school and entrepreneurship. "I can't die; I'm busy" became his mantra.

A few months later, he met Hadley Schmidt, a 7-year-old who looked at him with wide eyes, understanding they had the same tumor. He found his purpose, which was to speak for those who had not found their voice. It would be to help guide families to access to the most groundbreaking clinical trials. It would fuel research and policy changes while supporting other families fighting for their child's best chance to live. Jace often said, "We must make the circle bigger; we can never have enough bake sales to win this war."

We would be honored if you could join us as a one-time gift or, better yet, a monthly pledge. Of ALL the gifts you may give this year, THIS gift truly matters. It brings hope and allows parents to breathe easier, if just for a moment. It allows researchers and patients to interact directly to brainstorm the challenges of childhood cancer. One day we WILL have a cure. Let's do it 2gether!

Roger and Lisa Ward and

the Tough2gether Founding Families